Applying Thermal Imaging To Metal Boats

Applying Thermal Imaging To Metal Boats

This was a topic that fellow marine surveyor Jack Allinson and I presented at the 2013 IBEX ( International Boatbuilders Exhibition & Conference). I am new to thermal imaging, but over the past year Jack Allinson has proven its worth when it comes to metal boats. Mr. Allinson has been applying thermal imaging to marine surveying since 2003. Here at DBYS I am working on my Level 1 certification and have acquired a Flir Thermal Imager to add to my tool box for my metal boat inspections. Thermal imaging or also known as Infared Thermography, has been used in factory inspections, home inspections and marine surveying of composite boats for years.
When we apply it to metal boats it gives us  "better set of eyes" along with visual inspection and audio gauging. We have found that often where thermal anomalies are found there is trapped moisture and/or corrosion, and paint voids. One of the benefits is the ability to see the structure of the boat and location of the tanks. I find this very helpful to speed up my layout for UT/audio gauge inspection 

  From our presentation:
Infrared thermal imaging and correct interpretations of surface thermal patterns can be a real boon to cost-conscious clients keen on the price point required to find metal wastage, trapped and hidden moisture, and to document the water routes (trails) created when dewatering a vessel. On most UTM jobs, as much as 60% of the work effort goes into planning and implementing where to take the random spot checks for plating thickness. With the right environmental conditions this work can be easily reduced by half by scanning the shell plate with an infrared thermal imager.

 

In the images below the transverse framing and longitudinal stringers are visible.  I will post other photos at a later date that I have been able to locate corrosion.

Steel Brewer Schooner

Steel Dix 47

Steel Dix 47

Aluminum Utility Boat

 

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Virginia Beach Optimist Project

Update from Als project at the end of April, 2013:

Well, I really have been working on this baby but being retired takes up a lot of time.  For the last month I have been trying to get her finally ready for the water.  What this in essence means is that i have sanded, and sanded and sanded some more.  I have used every type of sanding device that i know of including wrapping a piece of sand paper around a 3/8" drill bit and sanding along some of the rough fillets.  What I have definitely learned is that neatness is worth a lot and I was not as neat with the epoxy as I could and should have been.  This left a lot of high spots and some really sharp edges that could do a job on little knees.  They are all gone now and another thin coat of epoxy has been rolled over all the unpainted areas, mainly the inside of the boat but also the spruce part of the gunwales.  I plan on attaching strips of mahogany as the outer rub rail and just vanrishing these.  No epoxy.  They are almost ready to attach.

I have made my mast and gooseneck from PVC..  The mast 1 1/2" pipe cut to length and then reinforced with treated wood and the goose neck is from a 1 1/2 x 1 1/4" tee.  My boom was supposed to be a 1 1/4" hardwood dowel but HD and Lowes both have ceased carrying that size (where i live) so the closest I could come was a poplar dowel 1 3/8" in diameter that I sanded down and have a nice fit into the 1 1/4" side of the tee.

I also found that my back couldnt take much more bending over to work on the inside so I made some 24 high saw horses that bring the boat to a perfect (for me) height to save my back.  Cute little things.

Today I attached to rudder.  Put the pintles & gudgeons on and took a lot of time to make sure I got it right. I think I did.  The rudder and tiller look really nice.  Hope they work as well as they look.

Now I am at the stage of what next? It appears that a dinghy dolly will be that project.  I havent found actual plans for one but have seen photos and  figure that I can make something close to what Ive seen that will fit the bill.

There is one more go round with epoxy filling some dings and gouges and no doubt some sanding after that.  Then it will be a clean up and Helmsman for the inside.  Really cant wait to do that finishing.

 

 

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